City Hall Blog

Council to vote on spending $200,000 per season to keep ‘Dallas’ in Dallas if TNT re-ups series reboot

Larry Hagman at the Winspear last Thursday for the red-carper premiere of TNT's Dallas reboot

Two weeks ago the Dallas City Council’s Economic Development Committee went behind closed doors to discuss the cost of keeping Dallas in Dallas, should TNT’s reboot of the iconic CBS series run longer than the debut season that kicks off June 13 (and, really, at this point you’re probably well aware of the debut date). At the time Janis Burklund, director of the Dallas Film Commission, couldn’t say much about the city’s dealings with production company Warner Horizon, except that shooting J.R. Ewing in Dallas all these years later is “crucial to our industry.” As Burklund explained, “If we can’t have Dallas here, how are we supposed to convince anyone else to shoot here?”

Now we know the price tag: $200,000 per season in incentives for six seasons, bringing the bill to $1.2 million. But that’s only if TNT keeps the series on the air for six more seasons. And if all those episodes are aired — among myriad other requirements listed on next Wednesday’s council agenda and below.

“If it doesn’t get picked up, no harm, no foul,” Burklund says this morning — except, of course, if the series doesn’t get picked up, there goes one of the city’s best marketing campaigns in years. “We have very little risk here. This is a pretty cheap deal. Just the 30 seconds of the opening title sequence alone …” She laughs. “And they’re still going to come and spend money.”

The $200,000-per-season deal is actually significantly less than the production company received to shoot the first season here. Last year the council voted to give developer Jack Matthews’s CCH Lamar Partners a $235,000 economic development grant to help finish out a film and television production facility on S. Lamar, while the production company received $25,000 for the pilot and another $25,000 on top of that for the rest of the 10-episode shoot. Matthews also threw in gratis and heavily discounted loft and office space for cast and crew — not to mention use in the series. “A lot of people chipped in to make this happen,” Burklund says.

The state kicks in a little by way of subsidies, but not much — and the way Texas doles out its film-and-TV dough is confusing, given the fact it’s tiered. As Burklund explains: “You have to explain, ‘There’s this and this and that and that,’ so it’s not just a number.” And the payout’s not as high as, say, Louisiana or New Mexico’s incentives programs.

Fact is, says Burklund, “$200,000 isn’t a lot, but it’s also significant with a show as modestly budgeted as Dallas. We’re kinda splitting the cost with them. It’s showing we’re in it with them. It’s establishing a lot of goodwill for hopefully years to come. I didn’t want to bring it back to council repeatedly, and it feels like it has every shot to go for years. This is a good deal for the city, absolutely. This is a cheap deal for the city, frankly. There are other forms of marketing that cost far more than that that aren’t nearly as effective.”

Terms of the deal follow; so too a rough version of the opening-credits sequence, which will slightly different when you watch the first episode next week. And you should watch it. No, seriously.

Per the council agenda, here are the terms of the deal with Horizon Scripted:

BACKGROUND

City staff has been in negotiations with Horizon Scripted Television to ensure the “Dallas” television series continues to film primarily in Dallas for seasons 2 through 7 should TNT pick the show up for additional seasons. Retaining the production of “Dallas” supports the local film industry, is an economic stimulant, and provides significant media exposure for the city.

While it may seem a given that “Dallas” would be shot primarily in Dallas, this is not the case. The original series shot their first season in Dallas, but then, most of the
production was moved to a Los Angeles studio where the actors and executives lived.

We do not want history to repeat itself in this regard. Additionally, other cities, states and countries are highly aggressive with incentives to lure productions away and Texas’
film incentives are not as lucrative as other locations. In fact, California’s incentive
program targets television series being done outside of their state. As was the case
with the pilot and first season, it’s important that the City supplement the state’s
incentives to secure this important project remains in Dallas.

The operation of the “Dallas” television series can mean an average of 300 jobs (120+
crew, plus day players, police, extras & actors). The first season resulted in 14,351
man days over the course of 10 episodes. Future seasons are expected to increase the
episode count; a second season will likely be between 13-15 episodes. Typically
production budgets also increase as a show progresses into additional seasons.

The first season of “Dallas” resulted in an estimated local direct spend of $12.5 million
(or $1.2 million per episode) for 10 episodes. This is only the amount spent locally, not
their overall budget. The total economic impact from the first season was $28.8 million.
TNT is expected to order between 13-15 episodes if a “pick up” is made for a second
season. Using the amount spent on the first season, conservatively 13 episodes
should result in $15,000,000+ in local spending for the second season and will likely
continue to climb with additional seasons.

The fiscal impact to the City from television production is calculated at $2,262 per
$100,000 in spending, so one 13 episode season would account for approximately
$352,872 in fiscal impact. Provided the production qualifies for the maximum grant
amount of $200,000 per season, the City will receive an estimated net fiscal impact of
$152,872.

The proposed economic development grant agreement with Horizon Scripted Television
will be contingent on TNT “picking up” the series each season and will be paid out
annually subject to annual verification of the compliance with the agreement. The
agreement includes the following conditions:

•Shoot a minimum of 13, one-hour episodes of “Dallas” each season.

•An episode will be defined by a minimum seven (7) days of shooting principle photography.

•A minimum of 60 crew members/technicians hired and footage shot will constitute a day of principle photography.

•Production’s base of operations (to include production offices, studio/permanent sets) must be located with the City of Dallas proper.

•Shoot primarily within the City of Dallas.

•Include a “Shot on Location in Dallas” credit in each episode.

•Continue to be good partners with the City and the community, shooting important City landmarks and locations and promoting the City via inclusion in the program and promotional activities of the show when appropriate.

Horizon Scripted Television is part of Warner Horizon Television (WHTV) which is one
of the entertainment industry’s leading producers of scripted series for the cable
marketplace and primetime reality series for both network and cable. Founded in 2006,
this production entity allows the Warner Brothers Television Group to expand its
programming offerings and explore creative options made possible under a new
business model. WHTV will have over a dozen unscripted and scripted series on the air
during 2011–12.

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